The Princess and the Frog and the Prince
by nicnac918
Summary: Handsome princes, unfortunate frogs and spoiled princesses all get what they deserve.


Once upon a time…

there was a beautiful princess named Lutessa Lena Luthor, though she preferred to go by Tess. One day she was out playing in the garden by a little pool with a spectacular golden ball. She threw the ball up in the air, over and over, but one time it came down with a plop right in the middle of the pool and sank to the bottom. Then Princess Tess began trembling with fear, for in truth she should not have been playing with the little golden ball at all, and though her father had become weak and frail with illness, the thought of his anger still terrified her greatly.

"What's wrong fair princess?" asked a great croaking voice. Princess Tess started and looked down to see a fat ugly frog sitting at the edge of the pool.

"I dropped my ball into the pool and now I can't get it back," she told him.

"I can fetch it for you," the frog offered, "if you promise to something for me in return."

"Anything you like, just so long as you retrieve my ball and do so quickly," Princess Tess vowed.

"Very well, then after I get your ball back for you, I want you to take me back to the castle with you and let me eat at your table and sleep on your pillow and sit in your lap." Then the frog jumped into the water before he could see the look of disgust on Princess Tess's face. He popped up not a moment later with the golden ball in his mouth, which he spat out at Princess Tess's feet. She picked up the ball and ran back to the castle with nary a second look at the frog who had helped her.

A few hours later Prince Alexander Joseph Luthor, though he preferred to be called Lex, was walking back from the stables to the main body of the castle when he also heard a great croaking voice. "Excuse me fair prince," – for the prince was as handsome as the princess was beautiful – "I wonder if you might help me."

Prince Lex was just as startled as his sister to see a talking frog, but, unlike his sister, Prince Lex made a point of helping all his citizens, no matter who they were. He knelt down so he could look into the frog's eyes – and what striking green eyes they were! – and asked "What sort of assistance do you need?" (Even though Prince Lex was more considerate than his sister, he was also smart enough to know not to make open-ended promises.)

"Earlier today your sister dropped her golden ball into the pool in the garden. I agreed to fetch it for her, if in exchange she would take me back to the castle with her and let me eat at her table and sleep on her pillow and sit in her lap. But when I retrieved the ball for her, she was so relieved to have it back that she forgot me in the garden. I tried to get back to the castle myself to make it easier on her to keep her promise, but it's such a far distance that I've tired myself out."

Prince Lex was touched by the frog's innate faith in the good will of other people, even if he felt Princess Tess hardly deserved it. "Hop up," Prince Lex said, offering out his arms to the frog. "I'll carry you the rest of the way back."

So, Prince Lex carried the frog into the castle and, given the late hour, to the dining room where he set him down next to Princess Tess's place.

"What is _that_ doing here?" Princess Tess asked, disgusted.

"You promised him that he could eat with you," Prince Lex reminded her. And, when Princess Tess looked as though she would protest, he added, "And if you don't keep your promise, then Father will be hearing about why you felt the need to make such a promise in the first place."

Princess Tess glared at him, but conceded to allow the frog to remain beside her for the duration of dinner. It was, however, only by Prince Lex's intervention that the frog was set his own place at the table, and that Princess Tess took the frog with her after their meal.

That evening, before retiring to his own rooms for the night, Prince Lex passed by Princess Tess's rooms to insure she was keeping her word. Outside the door to her chambers, there was the frog, perched on a pillow. Prince Lex was confused for a moment before he remembered the exact wording of the promise.

"Is that my sister's pillow?" he asked.

"The very one she normally sleeps on at night," The frog agreed morosely.

Prince Lex, feeling a good deal of sympathy for the frog, picked him up, pillow and all, and carted him back to his own room, placing the frog gently down on the bedside table. He then went to blow out the candle and go to sleep, but before he could, the frog asked him about the book sitting on the table next to him. Prince Lex was surprised, but the frog quickly pointed out that if he could talk, then there was no reason he shouldn't be able to read as well. The two ended up talking long into the night, only settling in to sleep when the candle gutted out of its own accord. That night, Prince Lex fell asleep with a smile on his face.

The next morning Prince Lex brought the frog with him to the breakfast table, and it was again only at his insistence that Princess Tess allowed the frog to eat alongside her. She objected again when they reached the throne room, claiming that if Prince Lex and the frog were such good friends, for the two of them had talked all through breakfast as well, then the frog could very well sit on _his_ lap. In truth, Lex wouldn't have minded that at all, having grown quite fond of the frog in their time together. But he assumed there must be a reason the frog had asked for the specific promise from Princess Tess that he had and so Prince Lex didn't say anything. He never even noticed the longing look that the frog sent him.

They sat before the assembled court for half an hour waiting for their father to show up, the morning court being all, if not more, than their father had energy for these days. Finally a page came in; running up to Prince Lex and whispering in his ear that made him turn pale with shock.

He stood before them all, his expression solemn. "I've just been informed my father, His Majesty King Lionel Luthor, has passed away in his sleep. The king is dead."

"Long live the king," came the answering shout, almost drowning out Princess Tess's wordless exclamation of triumph. Not completely though, which meant Prince Lex was able to turn in time to see the way she had jumped from her seat and was now holding the frog up high above her head.

"Tess," Prince Lex said, his voice sharp with fear. "Set him down."

"No," she snarled. "Father isn't around anymore, and you can't make me do anything. You might be king, brother, but you are not the boss of me." And with that she threw the frog down, dashing him against the stones.

Prince Lex's cry of loss transformed itself into a gasp of surprise that was echoed around the room. For there, standing where the shattered remains of the frog should have been, was a handsome young man with striking green eyes.

"It's Prince Clark!" called a voice from the back of the room, causing an eruption of conversation as it quickly became apparent that the anonymous speaker was right. The mystery man _was_ the missing prince from a few kingdoms over.

"Quiet!" Prince Lex demanded, which didn't stop the noise entirely, but it did bring it down from a dull roar to scattered whispers. "Prince Clark, while you are of course a welcome guest here, I think we would all like to know what brought you here in the first place."

Prince Clark gave a small bow of respect, and then began his story. "There's a forest on the fringes of our kingdom that it said to be cursed. I went there with a company of men, and of all us, I'm the only one who made it to the center. There I found a ruined and abandoned town. The only living person there was a witch, who had destroyed the entire settlement when they had rejected her because of her magic. I think she had been beautiful once, but the years of solitude and hatred had twisted her into something ugly. It soon became clear that I survived not due to my own skill, but because the witch wanted to keep me for herself. I spurned her and she flew into a rage like I had never seen before. She placed a curse on me, turning me into the form you saw before. Then she taunted me, saying I would be doomed to live a loveless life like she was, and magically transported me to your kingdom, far from my home. I found myself unable to tell anyone the truth of my curse, and despaired that I might have to spend the rest of my days as a frog. But I held out hope that her last comment to me about love was the key to breaking the spell."

Prince Lex felt his heart sink as he put together the reason for Prince Clark's overt fondness for Princess Tess. Clearly, Prince Clark was in love with her. And now that he was no longer a frog, she had seemed to warm to him considerably, judging from the look on her face. "If you want my sister's hand," Lex began.

Prince Clark let out a startled and very vehement "No! No undue offense to you Princess and I'll confess to some initial attraction, but not five minutes ago you were trying to kill me. The person I want to marry is much kinder than that, and honest and true."

Prince Lex felt his hopes rise before being dashed once again. Though he was grateful Prince Clark wasn't interested in his sister, there was still someone he was already in love with.

"He also," Prince Clark continued hesitantly, "is the kind of person I could stay up all night talking to." Startled, Prince Lex looked up, seeing Clark watching at him with a shy smile and eyes shining with love. "If he'll have me, that is."

Not even fully aware of what he was doing, Prince Lex stood up and crossed the room, grabbing his love's face and placing a chaste, but firm kiss on his lips. "I'd have you even if you were a frog."

... And they all lived happily ever after.


End file.
